This invention relates to bulk loaders for guns such as paintball guns and in particular to anti-jamming devices for use in these bulk loaders.
Games and training exercises played with paintballs and paintball guns have become very common in recent years and, as a result, a number of different types and models of paintball guns that employ pressurized gas to shoot paintballs have been designed and developed. The paintballs themselves comprise cylindrical capsules which have an outer layer made from gelatin usually and this outer layer encloses a colored liquid which generally has an oil base. When a player of a game or exercise is hit with one of these paintballs shot by another player""s gun, the paintball ruptures easily and leaves a visible color mark on the player.
In recent years with the development of paintball guns capable of rapid firing, the use of bulk loaders attached to these guns has become common. These bulk loaders are capable of holding a relatively large number of these small paintballs. These known bulk loaders typically hold from 100 to 200 paintballs at a time and they are fitted with an aperture at one end for reloading more paintballs when they become emptied. During use of the gun, this aperture is covered with a removal cap which may be transparent. Generally speaking, these bulk loaders are mounted to one side of and above the breech section of the paintball gun. In this way use of the bulk loader does not interfere with the proper aiming of the gun and also the paintballs can be fed by gravity through a bottom outlet of the loader and to the infeed passage of the gun. The loader typically has a feed tube that is connected to the loader housing at its bottom outlet and this feed tube generally feeds paintballs sequentially to the infeed passage of the gun.
One commonly encountered problem with known bulk loaders of the past is that the paintballs can jam as they enter the feed tube during operation of the gun. A jam will, of course, prevent further paintballs from entering the feed tube causing the gun not to operate after several shots. Commonly, such jams have been cleared by simply shaking the gun manually in order to dislodge the paintballs at the entrance to the feed tube. This type of shaking is undesirable since it generally interferes with the operation of the gun and prevents proper aiming of the gun.
In recent years, there have been several proposals for anti-jamming devices to overcome the aforementioned problem. One known anti-jamming device is that taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,454 issued Feb. 1, 1994 to C.M. Support, Inc. which describes and illustrates a bulk loader for a paintball gun. This known bulk loader employs an optical sensor to detect the absence of paintballs in the feed tube of a bulk loader and a rotatable agitator paddle member mounted in the housing that stores the paintballs. This paddle member can be rotated to clear a paintball feed jam by shifting paintballs located around the bottom outlet of the housing. There is an electric motor operated by a small battery that is able to rotate the paddle member when the absence of a paintball in the feed tube is sensed.
In applicant""s co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/434,428 filed Nov. 4, 1999 there is described a bulk loader for a paintball gun that employs an auger-like member rotatably mounted adjacent the bottom outlet of the paintball storing housing. Rotation of the auger-like member during use of the bulk loader acts to move paintballs in the region of the bottom outlet. An electric motor is operably connected to the auger-like member in order to rotate same and an electrical switch is mounted in the feed tube in order to sense the absence of a paintball within the feed tube.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved and an inexpensive jam clearing device for a projectile or paintball loading apparatus for a gun, this jam clearing device employing a vibrator which is capable of operating so as to move one or more projectiles without creating a jam at or near an outlet of the loading apparatus.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a jam clearing device for a projectile loading apparatus which is reliable, relatively expensive to manufacture and use, and which has a control mechanism that includes an electrical circuit including a switch capable of turning the device on when a projectile or paintball jam in the loading apparatus needs to be cleared.
According to one aspect of the invention, a jam clearing device for a projectile loading apparatus for a gun includes a projectile moving device adapted for mounting in or on the loading apparatus, this device being capable of vibrating in order to move one more projectiles located at or near an outlet of the loading apparatus. There is also provided a vibrator for causing the moving device to vibrate, this vibrator being connected to the moving device, and a control mechanism for controlling the operation of the vibrator. The control mechanism includes an electric circuit having a sensor capable of turning the vibrator on when the sensor senses the need to operate the vibrating device to feed paintballs through the outlet of the loading apparatus. During use of the jam clearing device, the electrical circuit is able to turn the vibrator off when operation of the vibrator is not required.
In the preferred embodiment, the vibrator includes an electric motor having a rotatable output shaft and a vibration causing weight eccentrically mounted on the output shaft for rotation therewith.
According to another aspect of the invention, a bulk loader apparatus for supplying paintballs to a paintball gun comprises a loader housing for internally storing a quantity of paintballs, this loader housing having a bottom outlet through which stored paintballs can drop, and a feed tube connected to the loader housing at the bottom outlet and extending downwardly therefrom. The feed tube is connectible to the gun and is capable of sequentially delivering the paintballs to the gun. The apparatus also has a paintball moving device mounted in or on the loader housing and capable of vibrating in order to move one or more paintballs located at or near the bottom outlet. A vibrator causes the moving device to vibrate and this vibrator is connected to the moving device. A control mechanism is provided to control the operation of the vibrator and this mechanism includes a switch mounted in or adjacent to the feed tube for sensing the absence of a paintball within the feed tube at the location of the switch. The control mechanism operates the vibrator to vibrate the moving device and thus cause one or more paintballs to drop into the feed tube when the switch senses the absence of a paintball.
In a preferred embodiment, the paintball moving device is a vibrator housing enclosing the vibrator and a spring connected to the vibrator housing at one end thereof and connected to a top wall of the loader housing at an opposite end thereof.
According to a further aspect of the invention, a portable paintball gun apparatus comprises a paintball gun having an intake passage for sequentially receiving paintballs to be shot from the gun and a loader housing for receiving and storing a quantity of paintballs and mounted generally above the gun. The loader housing has a bottom outlet through which stored paintballs can pass generally one after another. A feed tube is attached to both the loader housing at the bottom outlet and to the gun at the intake passage and this feed tube is adapted to receive and hold paintballs delivered from the housing for a gravity feed to the gun. A vibrating device is mounted in the loader housing and is capable of vibrating in order to move one or more paintballs located at or near the bottom outlet. There is also a control mechanism for controlling the operation of the vibrator, this control mechanism including an electrical circuit having a sensor capable of controlling flow of current in the electrical circuit. The sensor senses the need to operate the vibrating device to provide paintballs to the feed tube.
The preferred vibrating device in this paintball gun includes an electric motor having a rotatable output shaft and a vibration causing weight eccentrically mounted on the output shaft for rotation therewith.
Further features and advantages of the jam clearing device, the bulk loader apparatus and the paintball gun of this invention will become apparent form the following detailed description thereof taken on conjunction with the accompany drawings.